


Every Little Lie That He Told Me

by whimsicalmeerkat



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Espionage, Angst, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Philadelphia Flyers, boys being dumb, danny is not a hockey player, fluff and nonsense, mention of gritty, no beta we die like warriors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-26 14:22:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23036140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whimsicalmeerkat/pseuds/whimsicalmeerkat
Summary: “I promise. I swear it on your unholy orange nightmare of a mascot,” he found himself saying.There was a brief silence as they both considered that string of words.
Relationships: Danny Briere/Claude Giroux, Travis Konecny/Nolan Patrick
Comments: 4
Kudos: 85





	Every Little Lie That He Told Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Magpie_bbq](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magpie_bbq/gifts).

> It was Saturday night before the last day of Stitches West, the knitting & crafting con, when I was given the prompt by magpie_bbq of an NSA agent that falls in love with his target. This is the result. Never underestimate the love knitters have for hockey smut and boys being dumb.
> 
> If you are in any way involved with anything to do with espionage, you probably want to read this even less than any of the people named. I moved past handwaving into straight up semaphore with this one.
> 
> Title is from "Shoulda Showed Him" by the Show Ponies.

Danny looked impassively at his supervisor as the man used a lot of words to explain why he was being tasked to surveil the captain of the Philadelphia Flyers. He was fine with using plenty of words when they were called for, but he was pretty sure John thought this particular request was fishy, but he would never say so. Instead, he was trying very hard to sell it as necessary. Danny knew from experience that trying to get a more concise briefing out of John would take longer than just hearing him out. It wasn’t that he wasn’t curious about why Claude Giroux was chosen as a target. He was, but nothing John was saying would tell him. For some reason, but the CSIS and NSA had decided Giroux needed to be watched, so Danny would watch. Maybe he would get lucky and some of that watching would be at hockey games. He realized John had stopped talking and was looking at him, expecting an answer. “Of course, sir. Is there anything in particular I should know?”

“We have reason to believe Mr. Giroux is not straight.” John refused to meet Danny’s eyes as he tacked on, “It’s part of why we thought you would be good for this assignment.”

Danny stared. “What, I am supposed to be able to watch him better because of my sexual orientation? It gives me an edge with the wiretaps?” He could hear the harsh note creeping into his voice. He knew he was good at his job. Good enough that his government had loaned him to the Americans. Good enough for them to trust him, even though he was Quebecois, but the implication he was chosen for this role for reasons other than his work record burned.

John looked profoundly uncomfortable. “No, that isn’t it. I mean, not really. I mean, it’s just. he goes to nightclubs, and there was that thing with the cop, and have you seen Richards try to dance?” He ended on a begging note.

Danny snorted. He had a good imagination, but the fact that it was failing at that image said a lot. “Am I supposed to make contact? Is this more than just monitoring his phone,following him, etc.?” It would be unusual, but not unheard of.

“Not at this time. There will be some photography. Mostly wires though.”

Danny nodded. The fact that the object of his surveillance was a professional athlete was new, but he supposed one vocal French Canadian was like another.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Four weeks later, Danny sat across from John again, not even trying to hide his incredulity. “What do you mean, I have to travel with him? He’s a professional hockey player, they travel constantly. All he’s done in the past month is eat, sleep, train, and sneak grilled cheese sandwiches that aren’t on his diet plan.” Danny did not mention the cooing noises Claude sometimes directed at those sandwiches. It was in the recordings, and the fact that it was ridiculously cute was beside the point.

“We want to see who he meets up with when he is away from Philadelphia. You will perform the same electronic surveillance as here, but we also want ears in his room.”

Danny continued to stare. “There are 82 games in the regular season, and half of them are away games. That is a lot of different hotel rooms. Can you at least tell me what I am trying to find?”

John waved his hand vaguely. “Oh, you know, separatist stuff. Anti-Canadian, anti-American. You know how those French Canadians are, and you are perfect for this. You like hockey.”

“Does that mean I will get tickets to the games?”

Well, no. You’ll have to bug his rooms and see where he goes, but he won’t exactly have time to do anything illicit during the games. That will give you space to operate.”

“You realize a non-hockey fan would be less upset about having to miss part of every game for work,” Danny said dryly. “It might help if I had more to go on than just “follow the queer French Canadian hockey player””

John looked shifty. “If there is anything relevant to your mission, I will be sure to share it. Now, I am sure you have something else to do?”

Danny sighed, but left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Wait, wait, your new work schedule just happens to have you in the same city as the Flyers for their entire road trip, but you aren’t going to any of the games? What the fuck, dude? You have to go to at least one.” Danny looked at his phone, considering. David wasn’t his only friend who would have the same thought. Some agents liked to cloak all of their movements in secrecy, but those were mostly the ones with military backgrounds. He preferred to be honest about where he would be, only lying about why he would be there. Amazing how much movement could be waved away if you said you were in sales.

“Maybe I could see about getting a ticket,” Danny said slowly.

“That’s what I am saying! Go watch a game, hit a club, get laid, take advantage of being single,” David enthused.

“Don’t think you are fooling me,” Danny laughed. “I know you love your life of family, work, and sleep by ten because the kids have worn you out.”

“Yeah, I do,” David agreed. Danny could hear his smile. “You’ll have to come over for dinner when you get back. The girls miss their Uncle Danny.”

Danny agreed. THey chatted a few minutes more before some domestic catastrophe pulled David away. After they hung up, Danny was left with the same mixed feelings he had been having for ages. He was frequently lonely, but finding someone who was okay with his erratic schedule and need for privacy was pretty much impossible. He had stopped trying a while ago. Maybe he could combine business with pleasure this trip. He wasn’t even sure you could still call it a dry spell this far in. I mean, Claude fucking Giroux wasn’t exactly a flight risk, so he could afford to just leave the bugs recording every once in a while. That’s it. That’s what he would do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A week later, Danny stood in a noisy club in LA and reflected that he was apparently too existentially tired to even try to pick up. This shit was exhausting. Sure, LA was never going to be a great town for him. He never thought of San Jose as the land of the beautiful though, but he had still felt downright aged in that crowd. He knocked back the rest of his whisky and headed towards the door. He was most of the way there when a young man stumbled in front of him, fetching up practically against Danny’s chest, hands gripping his arms. He leaned back, and blatantly looked Danny up and down, still holding onto his arms. “Well, hello there. How would you like a drink?”

Another young man came up, putting his hand on the handsy one’s shoulder. “C’mon, TK, let the poor man have his arms back. He clearly doesn’t know what to do with his hands.”

Danny laughed, “I don’t know about that in general, but I do know to keep them off of baby Flyers.”

The youth who was now obviously Travis Konecny pouted, but let go. “We’re not that young. I can buy you a drink and everything. You recognized us in an LA bar, after all, so I basically owe you.”

Danny laughed, almost in spite of himself. “Is that how that works?”

“Yeah, come on, what are you drinking?” Without waiting for an answer, TK plunged through the crowd towards the bar.

Danny turned back towards the other young man he now recognized as Nolan Patrick. “He asked, but didn’t wait for an answer.”

Nolan shrugged. “That’s TK. He’ll either come back with an obscure beer or some sort of fruity cocktail.”

Danny winced. “Here’s hoping for the beer.” He looked back at Nolan. “I know it’s probably different away from Philly, but he is being awfully friendly with a stranger.”

Nolan shrugged again. “He has good instincts. He was probably watching you earlier. He does that.”

“That will make it hard to forgive him for a fruity drink, if he saw me drinking Scotch,” Danny said dryly.

Nolan laughed. “I didn’t even think about that. It wouldn’t be on purpose. He just gets enthusiastic about weird things. I just hope the drinks aren’t purple this time. That never ends well.”

“Well, at least he is paying?”

Nolan grinned. “Yeah, we have come to an understanding that whoever picks the drinks also pays. It may not help them taste better, but it helps a little.”

The drinks were not purple, but Danny wasn’t sure bright red and sparkly was much better. When he asked TK what was in them, he just shrugged and said he ordered them because they were pretty, tossed his back, and pulled Nolan onto the dance floor, saying they would be right back. Danny decided there were worse things he could do with his time, and sat back with what he was pretty sure was just a vodka martini with glitter. There were worse things than that too.

Eventually the kids came back, and Danny got up to leave. He should check the wires before bed. It would be just his luck that something would happen on the one night he didn’t check. Travis made noises about getting together when they were all back in Philly. He was completely baffled to learn Danny didn’t have any social media accounts. “How do you stay in touch with people?”

“I have a phone. It has email and Signal and everything.”

“I guess,” Travis said, deeply skeptical. He got Danny’s number, and promised to text him. Danny finally made it out the door, shaking his head over the exuberance of youth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Danny decided to walk back to the hotel. LA in February was a nice change of pace. He was just stepping into the elevator when someone called for him to hold the doors. In rushed none other than Claude Giroux himself. Danny unexpectedly found himself having to actively keep from staring. He had always found Giroux’s face compelling, but he hadn’t expected it to have an impact on him when seen at close range. He was just so...ginger. Danny liked ginger. He was suddenly glad this job was digital surveillance only. He was very certain he would have struggled to stay impartial if more contact was required. As it was, Danny was still unsure why Giroux was under surveillance. So far, all he had done was eat, sleep, and play hockey. Someone was paying for Danny to be there, but he had no idea why.

He pulled his thoughts together enough to nod at Giroux as he got off the elevator, but he was still deep in thought as he let himself in his room and sat down at his laptop. It didn’t take long to ascertain Giroux had been out of the room since before the game. He decided to read and listen in the background for a bit before bed. Thanks to the magic of recording, he could always go back to anything he missed.

He could hear Giroux taking things out of his bag, turning down the covers, climbing into bed, all the little sounds no one thinks about, but were completely obvious to him after a decade and a half in this line of work. He was considering bed himself, when he heard a definite moan, followed by shifting blankets. Normally, that was his cue to turn off the audio and just pick back up in the morning, but for some reason he just sat there. Maybe it was the glittery drink. Yeah, he was going to blame that. It probably explained his reaction in the elevator too. He sat there and listened, breath held, caught up in all of the sighs and moans and other noises a person made while masturbating. He was hard, but he didn’t touch himself. That somehow seemed a step too far. He was breathing erratically by the time he heard Claude moan through his climax and turn off the light.

The next morning he found himself in the elevator with Giroux again, and promptly turned red. If the other man noticed, he didn’t let on. Danny opted to stay as still as possible, and bolt when they reached the lobby. He didn’t know what was wrong with him. It was literally his job to be a voyeur. It’s not like this was the first time he heard someone have sex. He grimaced at the memory of that Russian technocrat’s son last year. He liked to combine deal making and orgies, and he did not treat women well. If Danny hadn’t already been gay, that might have causedf a change in his orientation, never mind that that wasn’t how any of that worked. At least they were able to build a case from that. He had his doubts about this one. Maybe he could get more information from John, or even better, get an assignment elsewhere. The NHL was already pretty damn Canadian, with a lot of players of the French persuasion, and it wasn’t like Giroux played for the Habs or something. He just wanted to know why. It had been many years since he fully trusted any government. Maybe he should find a new career, but he just didn’t know what he would do. He felt like this was the only thing he was suited for.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Dude, you have your own fries right there,” Nolan protested, shoving at Travis and interrupting Danny from his thoughts.

“Yours have just the right amount of pepper though,” Travis shot back, reaching for the plate again. Nolan put him in a headlock, and really, these idiots needed to get their shit together, because TK just looked blissed out. He didn’t try to so much as give the impression of trying to get away.

“Get off, you’re heavy,” Nolan said. He didn’t even react when the minute TK sat up, he grabbed a handful of fries

“So, Danny, do you have anyone special in your life?” Travis made an effort to sound casual, which was intensely suspicious, not to mention the odd way he phrased it.

“No, auntie, I’m not currently courting anyone,” Danny said sarcastically.

“Good. I have this friend I think you would really click with, so I think you should go on a date.” He bounced a little as he said it. “What do you think?”

Danny laughed. “You want me to do what, go on a blind date with one of your friends? I am way too old for that. I’m probably way too old for your friend too.”

“No, he’s old too,” he said, blithely waving some of Nolan’s fries around. He tilted his head. “Well, not as old as you.”

Danny was really feeling the fact that he was twice TK’s age. It was entirely possible this “old” friend was in his late twenties. He still wasn’t sure how he had become friends with the two young players. He had walked out of that club with the assumption he would never see them again, but TK had texted him a few days later on a non-game day, and asked him to go to lunch. Somehow, since then, Travis had inserted himself in his life, bringing Nolan along. For the most part, Danny was having fun, although he had been having to hide in his hotel room on road trips. Even TK would be suspicious of his fictional sales route lining up exactly with the Flyers schedule, and if he somehow didn’t catch on, Nolan would know it was bullshit. Nolan was aware of everything except for what was going on with him and TK. Danny vacillated between being amused and being filled with despair over how it was possible for two people to be so oblivious, even at that age.

Travis seemed to be aware of his side of things. Sometimes he looked sad when he didn’t realize anyone was watching him watch Nolan. His awareness stopped there though. He apparently had no idea that, on the occasions he didn’t immediately barge into Nolan’s space, Nolan moved into his. Nolan also seemed to not notice it though, and he was the one doing it.

“So, what do you think?” Travis’ question pulled him back to his surroundings. The kid looked so eager, but Danny shook his head. “Why though? You don’t ever go out, and you two would be perfect together. He travels a lot too.”

Danny narrowed his eyes. “Are you trying to set me up with one of your teammates?”

Nolan choked a little on his Coke. TK looked solemn. He crossed his heart. “I solemnly swear I am not trying to set you up with one of my peers.”

Their server suddenly materialized, and Danny got distracted with the check. “Well?” TK was so eager Danny hated to squash the enthusiasm, but he shook his head. “You’ll come around once you hear how great he is. Just wait.” Danny just snorted and slid out of the booth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Danny sat on a bench in Fairmount Park outside of the zoo, wondering for the dozenth time in five minutes what he was doing there. It had taken a few weeks, but TK had worn him down. Nolan had helped by pretending to be the voice of reason.

“Danny?” A questioning voice snapped Danny out of his thoughts. He looked up, straight at Claude Giroux.

“That little shit,” he said, standing up to shake Claude’s hand. The other man looked startled. “Sorry,” Danny said. “It’s just that I specifically asked if he was setting me up with a teammate. In hindsight, I should have found it suspicious that he said “peer” in his denial. I’m Danny Briere.”

“Claude Giroux,” the goddamned hockey captain said, extending his hand. “Underestimating TK’s ability to be sneaky is an easy mistake. I think it’s because he hides that side of himself behind Nolan, up until it suits him to do otherwise. If you want to go, now that you know the truth, I won’t hold it against you.”

“No, not at all,” Danny said.

“Good That’s what I was hoping you would say,” Claude said with a broad grin. He gestured towards the zoo. “Shall we?”

So they did. Then dinner just seemed to make sense, they were enjoying each other so much. Then ended up back at Danny’s car, eventually.

“I’m glad you parked in a garage,” Claude said, looking around. Danny started to ask why, but Claude was leaning in, sliding an arm around his back, and just that easily they were kissing. Claude’s lips were form, but also soft, and his beard tickled in just the right way. All too soon, he was pulling away. “I’ll see you, hopefully soon,” he said, voice deeper than before, a little rough. Danny just nodded, and watched as he walked away, downright jauntily.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“Come back to my place,” Claude said in Danny’s ear. “We’re too old for parking garages, and I am dying to touch you in ways that are illegal in them anyway.”

Danny started to laugh, then moaned as Claude bit his ear and ground his pelvis forward into Danny’s. “Yes, let’s do that,” he said somewhat breathlessly.

They managed to separate long enough for Claude to give Danny his address and head to his car. Danny couldn’t remember the last time he had been this excited to go home with someone. TK was right, he really liked Claude. (“I told you so,” he had said, accompanied by a fist pump.) Too bad Danny was lying to them all. He pushed that thought away. He could figure that out another time, when he was alone and his dick wasn’t quite so interested in the outcome of the evening.

Claude opened the door almost immediately when Danny knocked, pulling him in. “I’m inclined to leave the tour for later, do you mind,” he asked, already unzipping Danny’s hoodie and sliding his hands inside. Danny laughed, and reeled Claude in by his waist, leaning up the couple inches the other man had on him to bring their lips together. He sighed into the kiss. It just felt right. Urgent too. He was hard again, and could feel Claude’s erection pressing against his hip. He slid his hands under Claude’s sweater, rucking it and his shirt up so he could get his hands on bare skin and muscle.

Claude pulled back, lips shiny and swollen. He wrestled Danny’s shirt and hoodie off, spreading his hands over his chest. He huffed a little when he had to pull back to help Danny get his own shirt off, then leaned in to bite Danny’s neck, saying, “I am going to take you apart,” in his ear, causing Danny to shiver. He kissed Danny deeply, filthy and wet, until Danny thought he might be dying a little. Claude ran his hands down and palmed Danny’s dick, before making quick work of his jeans, pulling them and his underwear down around his thighs. Danny thought he knew not to underestimate the speed and dexterity of a professional athlete, but he had a brief moment to be impressed before Claude wrapped his hand around Danny’s cock and all thoughts fled. Danny leaned his head back and moaned when Claude stroked. It was pretty gratifying when he realized he wasn’t the only one breathing heavily.

Claude slid to his knees, and Danny hadn’t thought he could get more lightheaded, but he was wrong. He scrabbled at the door for some sort of hold as Claude licked up his cock, then took the head in his mouth and did some sort of swirling thing with his tongue. He completely lost the ability to do anything but try to breathe at least a third as much as was strictly necessary when Claude took him deep and sucked. He couldn’t look away. Claude just looked so good, mouth stretched around his dick, all ginger hair and beard, eyes heavy lidded. Too soon, Danny gasped out that he was close. Claude just reached up, laced their fingers together, and sucked harder.

Danny came with a shout. He sagged as Claude pulled off, and pressed a kiss against his hip. Honestly, he was kind of holding Danny up. He wasn’t sure how long it took him to gather his wits enough to pull Claude up and kiss him hard. He got Claude’s dick out, and worked to find a good balance between exploring how good it felt in his hand, and responding to the way Claude whined a little bit and bit his shoulder when Danny pulled his hand back and ran one fingertip down its length. He chuckled. “We’ll have to explore that later.” Claude moaned, the noise cutting off in a gasp when Danny gripped his cock firmly and began stroking steadily, keeping Claude still with a hand on his hip. He looked up. Claude was watching him with his lower lip caught in his teeth, eyes almost all black. Danny leaned up, bringing their mouths together, licking into Claude’s. Claude bucked when their tongues touched, coming over Danny’s hand, sighing into it when he stroked him through it.

Eventually, Claude pulled back, resting their foreheads together. “Believe it or not, my plans when I invited you over did not involve blowing you against the front door,” he said with a wry smile.

“I can’t find it in myself to complain,” Danny said, smiling back. He knew he probably looked smug, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the next few weeks flew by, Danny and Claude saw each other more days the Flyers were in town than not. Danny made a point of having their “schedules” coincide twice, but said he was staying at a different hotel. The closer they got, the more the secrecy wore on him. He needed to talk to John about ending this assignment. He could only tell himself better him than some other agent for so long before the sense of betrayal grew too heavy.

Being distracted by those thoughts meant he only had himself to blame when he stepped out of his hotel room in Nashville without listening for people in the hall, right as Claude came around the corner.

“Danny! I thought you were in Miami,” he said, obviously confused, but pleased. His face went from that to pure confusion at whatever he saw on Danny’s. Danny could only guess what that might be. Everything felt too slow and too fast, all at the same time. “Hey, you don’t look great, come on,” Claude said, gently pushing Danny into the room.

Danny closed his eyes, wanting desperately to go back just five minutes, or even better, to before the first time he lied to Claude. He knew what he was going to see. His headphones were on the desk, but the really damning thing was the Word document with Claude’s name, case number, and a series of dates with notes.

He knew Claude had seen it when he suddenly halted and made a shocked sound. He stood staring at the laptop until Danny stepped around him to close the lid. “Claude…” He started to speak hesitantly, quietly, while in his head he wanted to rage and curse.

“Are you a reporter or a stalker,” Claude gritted out. It clearly took effort to keep his voice steady. “I need to know if I just need to call PR, or if I need to call PR and the police.” His eyes were mostly angy, but Danny could see some hurt swimming in there too.

“I’m neither of those things,” Danny said carefully.

Claude let out an ugly laugh. “Do you really think I am going to buy that?” He ran his hand through his hair. “I actually really liked you, but the part that really pisses me off is how you used the kids. Travis really sees you as a friend, but you were just using him.” Bitterness dripped from every syllable, and his whole posture screamed strong emotions, none of them good.

“Claude, I wish I could explain. I am actually friends with Travis and Nolan. I had no idea you were going to be the person in that park. I am not a reporter, and I am not a stalker.” He was desperate, just trying to get the words out. “I promise. I swear it on your unholy orange nightmare of a mascot,” he found himself saying.

There was a brief silence as they both considered that string of words. Danny recovered first. “I’m sorry, Claude. I never meant for any of this.”

Claude made a slashing motion with his hand. “Stop. Just, fuck you. Stay away from me, and stay away from the kids.” He turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Danny thought he might have felt better if Claude had let it slam. This was just so much more final. He sank down on the chair and buried his face in his hands. He had been on the verge of telling John he needed a new assignment. Now he would have to, but because he got caught before doing the right thing.

“Fuck,” he snarled into his hands, wishing he was the type to throw things or rant. Instead, he just crawled into bed and wrapped himself around a pillow, leaving the laptop closed. He didn’t care if Claude was laying out the perfect plot to overthrow all of the North American governments and bring about the great French Canadian empire, he wasn’t listening to another minute. He hugged the pillow tighter, feeling absolutely sick and like he would never be able to sleep again. His last thought was that how much of that was guilt and how much was because he wouldn’t get to see where things went with Claude was entirely unclear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Someone was hammering on Danny’s door. It had been a solid ninety seconds, and they weren’t stopping. “Danny, open the door, you motherfucker,” he heard TK yell, followed by what sounded like a booted food kicking his door. Hard. Danny stumbled to the door and hauled it open. “About time, asshole...woah dude, you look terrible,” Travis said, sounding all kinds of judgy. He glared at Danny. “Move. We’re coming in.”

“Go away,” Danny started to say, but Travis was already pushing his way in, and Danny wasn’t drunk enough to get into a shoving match with a 22-year old hockey player. Nolan at least looked apologetic when he followed him in. Danny shut the door and followed them into his living room.

As soon as he was in the room, TK got in his face. “You fucking asshole, what the fuck? You just disappeared and all Claude would say was you weren’t who you said you were, and looked like you had personally kicked a whole ASPCA of puppies. Your phone was disconnected, you didn’t live where I thought you did, and it took four goddamned detectives to find you. You apparently did everything possible to hide, and just, what the bloody fuck?” He seemed to run out of air and deflated, dropping down on the couch. “I thought you liked us for us, not just for the hockey.” Nolan sat down beside him, and TK leaned into him. They both looked at Danny, clearly expecting an explanation.

Danny went to his chair, wishing the beer sitting there wasn’t empty. He had fallen asleep in his chair again. “What do you want me to say? Claude was right. I’m not who you thought. Everything you knew about me was a lie.”

TK flung his hands out. “But why? You’re not a reporter, and you disappeared way too thoroughly to be a stalker.”

“I don’t have answers for you. I do need to know the name of the detective who gave you my address before you leave though,” Danny said, looking up at the ceiling.

“What, why? They didn’t do anything wrong. What, are you some kind of spy or something,” Travis sputtered.

Danny must have made some sort of face or movement, because Nolan blurted out, “Holy shit.” Danny looked over to see him staring at him. “You are.”

Danny denied it, of course, but it was a feeble attempt. He was just too tired. He hadn’t anticipated how upset this had made him. He had also sobered up, which meant it was hangover time.

“That’s why none of the other detectives could find you. You did something to stop them from telling,” Nolan said, while TK continued to stare at him like he had sprouted horns and a forked tail.

“This is so cool. I’m basically friends with James Bond,” Travis breathed out.

Danny laughed bitterly. “I was never that. I did surveillance. Now I do nothing. I need to get on that.” The kids stared at him, clearly perplexed. “I quit my job, and I don't know what I am going to do next.” He gestured at the small garden of empty bottles on his coffee table. “When I get past this tage, that is.”

Nolan tilted his head slightly. “Why did you quit?”

Danny looked away and shrugged. “Lost my edge, I guess. I just couldn’t do it anymore. Not after all this.”

“You quit because of something to do with G, didn’t you?” Nolan’s voice was soft, and Danny could hear the sympathy.

“That is so romantic,” Travis said. When Danny turned his head, it was to see him practically bouncing on the couch. “Wait until he hears this. I know he misses you. He’s been a total asshole.”

Danny jerked upright, staring in flabbergasted horror. “You can’t tell him! I’m serious, he can never know.”

Nolan rolled his eyes as Travis emphatically shook his head. “You’re a spy who quit his job because of him. He has to know.”

“I quit my job because I can’t keep following orders that go against my better instincts when the people giving me the orders won’t give me reasons. Claude was just the catalyst for a decision I should have made before it got to the point I hurt someone.” He made aggressive eye contact with TK. “Promise me you won’t say anything to anyone.”

Travis nodded reluctantly. “Does this mean we can be friends again? You won’t disappear again,” Travis said, pulling out his phone. “What is your new number?”

Danny gave him the number, made vague promises about someday getting lunch, and firmly kicked them out. He took some ibuprofen and stumbled to bed. He would go to lunch a few times, then fade out of the picture. Summer would be here soon, and he could let everything die off then. He liked the pair, but he didn’t think he was strong enough to not ask about Claude, and Travis clearly already had enough ideas in that direction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Danny stood outside of TK’s door, and took a deep breath before knocking. The last time he was here, it was with Claude. He wasn’t looking forward to the memories. He had been avoiding coming here in the weeks since Travis and Nolan found him and reinserted themselves in his life, but this time Travis had threatened to drag him there bodily, and it looked like he meant it.

When Danny finally knocked, Nolan answered the door. He practically dragged Danny in. “Yo, TK, time to go, man,” he yelled, shoving Danny towards the living room. Danny didn’t have a chance to ask what the fuck was happening before Travis was squeezing past him.

“You two need to talk,” he threw back over his shoulder, as Claude appeared at the end of the hall. He looked as grim as Danny felt. Behind him, he heard a key turn and the deadbolt shoot home.

“What the fuck?” Claude stared back at him. “I don’t suppose your spy training taught you how to pick locks?”

“No, I picked that up from Scouts Canada, but I fell out of the bait of carrying the tools,” Danny said, turning towards the door. “Fortunately, they won’t be necessary today.” He reached out and flipped the lever that opened the deadbolt. He opened the door to TK’s shocked face. Nolan doubled over laughing.

“You dick, you knew that would happen,” TK spluttered at him. Nolan just laughed harder. “Whatever, I’m still not letting you and G leave.”

“You know I can bag skate you as often and as hard as I want, right? No one would stop me,” Claude said silkily from behind Danny. Closer behind than he had realized.

Travis looked at him soberly. “If that is what you need to do, OK, but you’ve been a miserable asshole, and Danny has just been miserable, so you have to talk. I’m not kidding. Or moving.” Nolan had straightened up, moving to flank him.

Faced with a wall of determined young hockey players, Danny took the high road, nodded, and closed the door in their faces.

Claude was already down the hall. “We can talk in here. I wouldn’t put it past them to try to eavesdrop.”

Danny followed him, coming to a halt behind the couch. “If you don’t want to talk, we don’t have to. We can probably wait them out,” he said quietly.

Claude spread his hands, looking both pissed and helpless. “What do you want me to say? You were spying on me. Everything you said and did with me was a lie, and I don’t even know why. I’m a hockey player, for fuck’s sake. If you were telling the kids the truth, you were assigned by some agency to follow me, and what did I ever do that made them think I was worth having someone go all the way to the lengths of getting in my pants…”

“No!” Danny was aware he had just yelled, but he had to clear this point up. “I was only ever assigned to listen to you, and follow from a distance if you were meeting someone suspicious. I was never supposed to interact with you.”

“Do you actually expect me to believe that?” Claude’s voice was weary.

“No. You deserve to know though. I lied in unforgivable ways, but being with you was not the job.” He sighed. “I’m surprised I still had a job, but I think they would have kept me assigned to you even after I outright told them I had been made, if I was willing.”

“Well, I suppose I should be grateful you stopped. Are you spying on a preschool teacher now or something?” Claude’s voice was mocking, but he mostly looked grim.

“No,” Danny said quietly. “I am looking for work in private sector security right now. Setting up home surveillance systems and the like.”

Claude narrowed his eyes. “I thought you said you still had a job.”

“I did. I quit. I couldn’t stomach doing things against my instincts without answers when I asked why.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I tried to find out why you were a target before I left, but I still couldn’t get an answer. I’m sorry.”

Claude shrugged. “If they want to waste time and money, fine.”

“They may have given up. Did you have someone help you find and remove bugs? It won’t help if they got a wiretap order on your phone, but it will help at home and in the hotel rooms.” Danny stopped at the look on Claude’s face. It was thunderous.

“You just said everything between us was separate from this, but you bugged my home?” He spat the words, fists clenched.

“Yes, I did. While you were at training camp before the season started. You had to know that though. None of them were hidden anywhere particularly obscure.” Danny stopped, suspicious blooming. “You did have someone come in and sweep, right?”

Claude shook his head. “I figured you were just a stalker when you turned out to not be a reporter. After a few weeks, the kids showed up with some story about you being a spy, but they were being so cagy I thought they were just trying, and failing, to make me feel better. Mostly, I just tried not to think about you,” he ended, sounding lost and breaking Danny’s heart a little bit more.

“I’m sorry,” Danny said. “I’m so sorry for everything.” He realized he was digging his fingers into the back of TK’s couch. He wasn’t sure when he had grabbed onto it, but he thought it might be the only thing keeping him standing. “If you want, I can recommend someone to help you know what to look for, both at home and in hotels.”

“Or you could show me.” Danny jerked his head up and stared. Claude looked uncertain, but determined. “If you want to. You don’t have to.”

“No, I mean, yes, I want to.” Danny was pretty sure he was babbling.

Claude moved towards the couch until he was standing directly in front of Danny. Danny dug his fingers in. He wanted to reach out so badly. He wasn’t expecting it when Claude reached out and gripped his neck. “I’ve missed you. I’m not ready to go back to how things were, but I want to see what we can have.”

Danny nodded. He felt like speaking was impossible, with everything he was feeling, but he managed to croak out an assent. He didn’t deserve this chance, but he was damned well going to take it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Danny!” TK launched himself through the door as soon as he opened it. Danny was deeply grateful he elected to keep his feet on the ground, contenting himself with clinging to his neck and leaning on him.

“Hey kid. You’re heavy,” he got out.

Travis pulled back. “You sound like Nolan.”

Danny snorted. “The difference is, he likes it.”

Travis looked hopeful, but visibly decided Danny didn’t mean what Danny absolutely meant. “I’m so glad you’re here for the season!”

“He lives here,” Claude said dryly from behind Danny. “He doesn’t leave for the summer. That’s not something most people do. Nolan, TK was just saying how good you are to lean on.”

TK literally jumped and whirled around, sputtering out a denial to the empty hallway. He turned back around. “You asshole, why would you do that?”

“Just trying to help you out,” Claude said, hooking his arm around Danny’s waist.

“Everyone deserves to be this disgustingly happy,” Danny agreed. “Seriously, dude, you really need to pay attention and go for your boy.”

Travis looked sad. “I can’t lose what I have.”

“Take the risk. It’s better than what you risk by never going for what you want,” Danny said.

“Travis, do we have any of that Penzey’s Tuscan blend left,” Nolan yelled from the kitchen.

Claude cracked up, reaching out to shove TK’s shoulder. “You’re a dumb fuck. Jus bros don’t say “we” about the spice cabinets of anyone they aren’t living with. Go get your boy.”

Travis stared at them wide-eyed, then bolted down the hall, leaving Danny and Claude standing in the entryway.

“I say we give it half an hour, then leave,” Danny said as they walked into the living room.

“Well, I am certainly not going in that kitchen, or at least not until they emerge,” Claude agreed.

Nolan and Travis did not emerge within that half hour. It took two full hours for TK to text Danny and Claude his thanks and to ask where they went. They didn’t see the text until the next morning. Basically, things worked out all around.


End file.
